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Thursday, August 31, 2006

You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs

Second half added September 1

George Galloway, writing, of course, from Berlin, says: "As the smoke clears from the battlefield of the 34-day war in Lebanon, it would be a mistake to count the cost only in fallen masonry and fresh graves." In other words, who gives a monkeys how many people were killed, so long as the "resistance" triumphs. The classic Leninist ends justifies means when History is on your side. What an evil man.

George also has the inside track on Hassan Nasrallah's prayers. "Nasrallah thanked God that the [Israeli] attack came when the resistance movement was prepared." Who cares about Lebanese deaths, so long as it was a good war.

One of my favourite things about Gorgeous George is his wonderful way with metaphor and simile. How about this: "The myth of invincibility is a souffle that cannot rise twice." (For more examples, see here.)

Final, truly unbelievable words: "If there is no settlement there can only be war, war and more war, until one day it is Tel Aviv which is on fire and the Israeli leaders' intransigence brings the whole state down on their heads... There is still time to choose peace. But make no mistake, with the victory of Hizbullah, a terrible beauty is born."

Today's Guardian hosts George Galloway on Hezbollah's 'victory': the usual brown-nosing of clerical fascists made even worse by his quoting from Yeats' Easter 1916, 'A terrible beauty is born.' More appropriate would be this from, irony of ironies, Remorse For Intemperate Speech, 'Great hatred, little room,/Maimed us at the start.'

Better still, this, from The Second Coming, 'The best lack all conviction, while the worst/ Are full of passionate intensity.' The abuse of lines from the greatest poet of the twentieth century by a fourth-rate demagogue ---a galling start to anyone's day.